


the bitter pill

by arcanawildcard, clairelutra



Series: 'twas born from the blue hellsite [4]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Jealousy, Oblivious, Pining, everyone is o b l i v i o u s
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-25 02:26:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22008430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arcanawildcard/pseuds/arcanawildcard, https://archiveofourown.org/users/clairelutra/pseuds/clairelutra
Summary: The girl was... cute. Ann could give her that. Maybe notmodelcute—(what happened to ‘just about anyone can be a model if they work hard enough’?a voice that could have been Carmen or could have been Shiho snarked in the back of her mind)—but cute.Big brown eyes and a pert mouth to go with gyaru-bronzed skin andwaytoo many accessories (seriously, who’d told her that was a good idea?), a high-pitched titter and too many teeth in her smile to qualify as attractive, and her thighs couldreallyuse some toning if she was going to show them off that much, but her brown hair was workable if she wanted to put anyworkinto it—Ugh.She sounded likeMikaright now.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Takamaki Ann, Kurusu Akira/Takamaki Ann, Persona 5 Protagonist/Takamaki Ann
Series: 'twas born from the blue hellsite [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1609501
Comments: 11
Kudos: 120





	the bitter pill

**Author's Note:**

> **Anonymous said:** Maybe it's been posted before. But would love to see if you could do a jealous Ann. Doesn't matter the girl that she's jealous over Akira. Just love how you write her internal thought process in your stories. It's very much how I imagine Ann to be 
> 
> OKAY gonna see if checking off a few requests between chapters of boyfriend material will alleviate the guilt a bit lol.
> 
> 1/3 short fills! when asked for direction, both ci and dora overlapped on jealous!ann, so that's first on the list. it made for a v good angst vent (9'-')9
> 
> go forth, ann. go forth and eat your heart out.

The girl was... cute. Ann could give her that. Maybe not _model_ cute—( _what happened to ‘just about anyone can be a model if they work hard enough’?_ a voice that could have been Carmen or could have been Shiho snarked in the back of her mind)—but cute.

Big brown eyes and a pert mouth to go with gyaru-bronzed skin and _way_ too many accessories (seriously, who’d told her that was a good idea?), a high-pitched titter and too many teeth in her smile to qualify as attractive, and her thighs could _really_ use some toning if she was going to show them off that much, but her brown hair was workable if she wanted to put any _work_ into it—

Ugh.

She sounded like _Mika_ right now.

Not that there was anything wrong with Mika—( _you have an admirable capacity for forgiveness, but there are plenty of things wrong with Mika,_ said a voice in the back of her head that was _definitely_ Carmen)—but this was one way that she seriously _didn’t_ want to emulate a sharky businesswoman with a hypercritical eye for anything and everything female in her vicinity.

But.

That titter was over something really dumb Akira had said, and that brown hair was being twirled around her finger as she batted her fake eyelashes at him and posed like a— _like a_ —

...Posed like she like-liked him.

The girl was throwing out every signal in the book that she was interested and available, and all those signals were aimed right at Akira.

That was bound to happen at _some_ point, right? She’d just been taking for granted that the whole school hated him (god, what a thing to take for granted; she was the _worst_ ), but he really _was_ incredibly cute if you took the time to look past the creepy glasses shine thing, and he had a _gorgeous_ voice when he took the time to speak up, and she’d never forget that first day when he chased her, an almost complete stranger in the middle of a breakdown, down and made her tell him what was wrong.

So now someone had realized what a hidden treasure he was, and Ann...

—Well, for _definitions_ of _realized_. Did this girl really care about him, or did she just think he was hot?

Ann’s money was on the second.

(And, shamefully, that thought was a comfort. What kind of person _was_ she to feel _better_ about someone not loving one of her closest friends like he deserved?)

And Ann didn’t know how to deal with that. Didn’t know how to deal with one single first year gyaru making eyes at her best friend.

Ann’s best friend. _Ann’s_.

She didn’t even know why this was something that had to be ‘dealt with’! Akira was finally getting the recognition he should have had all along, and Ann should be—happy. Relieved. Giggly.

She should think this was _cute_.

It really wasn’t cute.

She felt sick to her stomach, sad and irritated for no good reason, and the girl’s titter was turning into a full-blown laugh and Akira was almost _smiling_ and—

Ann stood up, leaving her lunch half-eaten on her desk, and left by the far door.

* * *

Her name was Anri. It was spelled with the same kanji as Ann’s name.

This was the first, only, and _weirdest_ time she’d ever wanted to tell someone to change their name—and maybe switch schools or flee the country while they were at it.

It wasn’t fair. She _knew_ it wasn’t fair. Anri hadn’t done a single thing wrong except smile at Akira just a little too wide, and yet whenever Ann thought about her for too long, her hands started itching for her whip, half-hating herself for hoping she was interrupting something when she texted Akira reminders about the Metaverse, praying that he’d give her something to _hit_.

She’d gotten too used to violence. That was the main problem here.

(It wasn’t the main problem at all. She just couldn’t manage to put a pin in _what was_. This irrational hatred of Akira’s new friend wasn’t doing anyone any favors, so _why was it still here?_ )

Her dislike wasn’t even mutual. Anri was perfectly happy to nod to her in the hallways, greeting her with an easy _hey there, Takamaki-senpai!_ each time.

Ann wished she wouldn’t. There was only so much guilt she could take here.

It was about two weeks into this that Anri failed to acknowledge her presence—something Ann would have been relieved about (if Anri didn’t notice her, then she was under no obligation to notice Anri) if Anri wasn’t blushing and grinning and she couldn’t hear Ryuji talking with someone (Akira) up the next flight of stairs.

“Told you she liked ya, dude.”

Ann froze halfway to the next stairwell.

If Akira replied, it was too quiet for her to hear, and Ryuji went on, “So? You gonna ask her out?”

She caught the fainted wisp of a neutral hum, and her stomach clenched. He _had_ to know. He _had_ to. She couldn’t live in suspense like this.

Dryly, lower, Ryuji added, “You _know_ this is the closest you’re ever gonna get to dating Ann.”

...What?

Her veins turned to fire and ice and electricity all at once, stomach twisting _hard_ —

“Ha.”

It was a humorless kind of noise, an acknowledgement of the joke, an agreement by way of not being a _dis_ agreement, and Ann wanted to charge up there and demand answers, wanted to throw something, wanted to be sick—

Just... _what?_

Closest he’d get to dating—

Well, it wasn’t... wrong, exactly, but why would that even _come into the equation_ —

Closest he’s ever get to dating Ann.

Because Anri _liked_ him and Ann... didn’t...

But Akira— _why would Akira even care?_

Akira... cared.

Ryuji wouldn’t have made that joke and Akira wouldn’t have responded like that if he didn’t care.

_You know this is the closest you’re ever gonna get to dating Ann._

_Ha._

Ann turned on her heel and headed back down the stairs. There was no way she could face him in class right now. Skipping hadn’t been on her to-do list, but it was now.

* * *

She was getting water at approximately 2:15 A.M. when three things abruptly occurred to her.

First: if anyone else had been in this mess and told her that they felt the way she did about it, the first thing out of her mouth would have been, _oh, you’re in love with him._

Second: she’d been assuming that this thing she was feeling now was somehow fundamentally different from what it would be for anyone else.

Third: it wasn’t.

* * *

Going to school with that particular revelation spinning through her head was pretty wild.

How long— _how long_ —had she been keeping her from thinking about him like that? Now that the floodgates were open, she couldn’t escape it.

All those cut-off thoughts about the shape of his mouth were completing themselves. All those banished fantasies of being in his arms were sitting implacably at the forefront of her mind. All those nights of laughing at herself for getting off thinking about him—and how she’d never let herself imagine kissing him through it—came crashing back.

She spent the entire first half of the day burying her burning face in her notes, unable to escape the knowledge that he was right behind her, just _there_ while she couldn’t stop thinking about kissing him and touching him and... _doing things_ with him, and _oh geez, this was way too awkward_.

She wanted, she wanted, she _wanted_ so much. Wanted _him_. Everything he could give over to her, she _wanted it_.

(Whatever she could give in return was his already, wasn’t it.)

Lunch came, and with it came Anri. forever decorated, forever cheerful, forever getting _way too close_ to someone Ann hadn’t realized she wanted almost since she met him.

“He-yo,” she singsonged as she slapped her hands down on the edge of Akira’s desk. “Guess who jus’ scored two tix to the aquarium! Wan' come with?”

The requisite beat passed while Akira thought about it, then he said, “Sounds like fun.”

Anri squealed

Ann stared blankly down at her lunch, finally, finally, _finally_ having a name for that emotion making unhappy knots out of her gut.

Jealousy.

She was so jealous she wanted to _die_.

Or make something else die. Either would work.

“So Saturday’s good, right? Swee-eet!”

“Heh.”

“Hey, Takamaki-san!” Anri leaned over into Ann’s peripheral vision. “...You okay?”

Ann found it in herself to nod.

“...’Kay.” Then, much chirpier, “See you Saturday, sweetcake!”

Once she left, silence reigned for a long moment.

Surprisingly enough, it was Akira that broke it.

“...Let’s go to the roof.”

Sensing the incoming interrogation but unable to find her voice, Ann just nodded again.

* * *

They stood by the fence overlooking the school, Akira waiting in silence for her to start.

She had no idea how to start.

“You’re upset,” he eventually prompted.

She nodded.

“What’s wrong?”

She curled her fingers in the wire mesh and said, “Are... are you really dating her because— because she’s the closest you’ll get to... dating—” She swallowed against the tight lump in her throat. “—dating me?”

“...Ah.”

Ann waited.

“You heard that.”

“Uh-huh.” Agh, why did her voice come out so _small?_

“Ryuji’s an idiot.” _But you didn’t disagree._ “I’m not dating her.” _You agreed to go out with her just the two of you, though._ “You’re different people.”

...And yet.

“Mm...” Why were there tears stinging her eyes? “I don’t... want you to go out with... with a replacement for me.”

“That would be pretty awkward,” he agreed cautiously. She could feel his stare boring into the side of her head. “She’s not a replacement.”

It was close enough to a defense of Anri that tears coalesced in the corners of her eyes, and Akira inhaled a sharp breath.

“I don’t... I don’t...”

She didn’t have the first clue how to finish that sentence, but it didn’t matter; Akira took one step away from the fence, two steps towards her, pulled her close and wrapped her in a tight hug.

“...Ann?”

“I love you,” she ended up confessing to his shoulder, and Akira froze. “Really, _really_ love you. And if you really wanna go out with her, that... would really, really suck.”

He let out a quiet, half-stunned laugh.

“I don’t know what to do with this,” she said, which might be the real crux of the problem now. “I just... wanted you to know.”

"...Oh.”

The silence was back for a total of two seconds, and then Ann’s face started to burn with a vengeance, a high-pitched whine forcing its way out of her throat.

“...I can’t believe i said that,” she half whimpered, half groaned. “Who just _says that?_ So. _Embarrassing_...” She buried her face into his shoulder and let out a mortified whine.

“Said... you love me,” he checked, amused and _almost_ breathless.

That was _even more_ embarrassing to hear repeated back to her. And why did he need to _check_ anyway? Didn’t he _believe her?_

She jerked back look him in the eye and— _oh geez that was so close so close so close_ —blurted, “W-well I do! I really do! I won’t take that back! Not ever! I-I love you!”

“You love me,” he repeated, even more amused and _definitely_ teasing, this _asshole...!_

 _“I do!”_ she snapped.

Her declaration rang between them for one single second, and then something something _flashed_ in his eyes and his lips were on hers, his glasses digging weirdly into her nose one hand coming up to cup the back of her head and—

It wasn’t anything like what she was expecting.

It didn’t _taste_ like sugar, but it sang through her mind like it. She wasn’t seeing fireworks, but her blood was crackling like they were inside her. Everything everywhere was pressure and sultry heat and _need_ that was sated just as fast as it grew and grew and _grew_.

The wire mesh dug into her back through her clothes and into her scalp through nothing, only adding into the overload of _sensation_ as he pressed her into it with his entire body, a knee between her trembling legs and a hand crumpling her thin jacket as it roamed up her side, and if she was going to turn into an electrified puddle on the spot, then _no one_ could blame her.

For all that she was trying not to make too much noise, he seemed to be having a similar problem—subsonic groans and tight sighs making her knees even weaker, the perfect counterpoint to the little gasps she couldn’t restrain and the clicky noises of tongues and lips and mouths.

It was deep and wet and _hot_ and even Akira looked kind of stunned when they drew apart.

_“Eep!”_

That... had not come from either of them.

Ann glanced over Akira’s shoulder and found Anri standing at the door to the stairwell with a very strange expression on her face.

“A-A-Akira-senpai! I, ah, one o’ my friends said ya could be found on the roof, an’ um! Hey, let’s jus’ f-forget about the aquarium, yeah?” Her voice cracked pathetically on the last word, and she abruptly turned on her heel. “Y-yeah.”

“...Yeah,” Akira echoed dumbly, glazed out and confused.

Anri slammed the door behind her so hard it rattled on its hinges.

Ann felt _distinctly_ less guilty that she should have.

He slowly turned to look at her, befuddled frown deepening at her squirmy grin. “You look happy.”

She giggled sheepishly. She _did_ feel a _little_ guilty—just not _enough_ , you know? “That means you’re just mine, right?”

She could feel the response through his whole body, he was still so close, his every muscle relaxing a little.

“Always,” he promised fervently, then kissed her before she could finish beaming over it.

* * *

It was a pretty _satisfying_ long while before they discovered that Anri had locked the door on them.

**Author's Note:**

> [taking requests here! (be prepared for a wait tho orz)](https://arcanawildcard.tumblr.com/ask)


End file.
